1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for separating oil from water and more particularly, to a floating oil skimming watercraft which is designed to remove a film of oil of various thickness from a water body by skimming the oil from the surface of the water body using a collection boom and a conveyor system and storing the oil in a self-contained holding tank. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the oil skimming apparatus is characterized by a barge capable of being transported by a trailer and equipped with a pair of spaced pontoons spanning a holding tank for accumulating the oil skimmed from the surface of a water body, an adjustable boom slidably mounted in angular relationship on the front of the pontoons and a conveyor system mounted on the boom for conveying oil skimmed by the boom upwardly to a pair of drain chutes, where the oil drains by gravity into the holding tank. The boom is slidably adjustable on the pontoons of the barge, in order to facilitate location of a skimming plate at the oil-water interface and cause the flow of oil over the skimming plate and into the boom apparatus for sequential contact by a series of paddles mounted in the conveyor.
One of the problems regarding pollution of waterways in the United States and other countries of the world is that of oil leaks. These leaks occur from improperly installed or poorly maintained oil collection tanks, oil spills from damaged tankers in the Gulf of Mexico and other water bodies of the world and from various other sources. The problem of oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico has been widely publicized, as the oil not only pollutes the water itself, but also deposits on the beach areas of the coast, thus necessitating massive clean-up operations. When deposited in coastal waters and on coastal beaches, the oil constitutes a threat to wildlife and greatly reduces tourism in the area. For example, birds such as seagulls and the like, are unable to fly when the oil coats their wings and feathers. Such oil deposits further hamper or render fishing operations impossible and when the oil washes onto a beach, it must be removed by hand, using straw, hay and other absorbent materials. Such clean-up operations are extremely expensive and are never totally effective to remove the oil. Furthermore, oil spills in rivers and waterways which serve as water supplies for various cities and towns threaten these water supplies and may extend for many miles down the river or waterway as the oil slick moves with the current.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various clean-up techniques are well known to those skilled in the art for removing or "skimming" oil films from water. Such clean-up operations often include the use of floating oil-containing booms which are deployed to contain oil slicks in the area of an oil leak or spill until the oil can be removed by mechanical means. Conventional mechanical oil-removing devices are frequently hampered by wind, wave and tidal action, as well as current, under circumstances where a river or flowing body of water is involved and various types of these mechanical apparatus for effecting the skimming of oil from water are well known to those skilled in the art.
It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved oil skimming apparatus which is characterized by a floating watercraft fitted with a slidably-mounted skimming boom, the rear portion, or oil-dispensing end of which boom is secured in angular relationship on the front of the watercraft and the front segment, or oil-collecting end, being horizontally oriented, which boom is further provided with a conveyor system for conveying oil which has been skimmed from a water body by the boom along the boom for depositing into a holding tank located in the watercraft.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved oil skimming apparatus which is characterized by a watercraft or barge provided with an oil collection tank, a slidably-mounted boom oriented in angular relationship on the front of the barge for adjustment of a horizontally-disposed oil-collecting end of the boom at a selected depth in the water body and a conveyor system mounted on the boom for receiving oil skimmed from the surface of the water body and conveying the oil upwardly along the boom to a pair of collecting chutes, where the oil drains into the oil collection tank.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an oil skimming apparatus which includes a small, maneuverable and easily transported watercraft that is flotable on substantially any water body and in a preferred embodiment, is characterized by a pontoon barge fitted with a holding tank having an angularly and slidably-mounted boom on the front thereof, with a vertically-oriented skimming plate provided in the oil-collecting end of the boom for skimming the oil from the surface of the water body, and further including a conveyor system mounted on the boom for contacting the oil flowing over the skimming plate and delivering the oil to the opposite end of the boom, where it drains into the holding tank.
A still further object of this invention is to provide an oil skimming apparatus for skimming an oil film from the surface of a water body, which apparatus includes a watercraft such as a barge that is capable of being stabilized by a pair of stabilizing legs in a selected location on the water body and is fitted with a slidably-mounted skimming boom having an oil-dispensing end that is angled downwardly with respect to the horizontal and a horizontally-oriented oil-collecting end provided with a skimming plate, which skimming plate can be adjustably located at the approximate interface between the oil and water to skim the oil from the surface of the water and further including a conveyor system provided on the skimming boom for continuously wiping oil which flows over the skimming plate, to the oil-dispensing end of the boom, where the oil flows by gravity into a holding tank provided in the watercraft.